Beauty and the Beast Short Stories
by the wise old owl
Summary: I recently just saw the 2017 live-action film of 'Beauty and the Beast', and fell in love with it. This will just be a compilation of short stories based on the film. I will try to update new stories as much and as soon as possible. Please comment! I love your guys' feedback! Also, if you have any ideas or requests, I'll be happy to do that, as well! Hope you all enjoy!
1. Lumiere's Christmas Disaster

It was Christmas Eve. Everyone at the castle was getting ready for the upcoming holiday and the dinner that was to be hosted that night. The residents at the castle finally had a guest; it had been years since anyone had been at to the fortress, and although she wasn't technically a guest (she was a prisoner, in all reality), the servants at the castle were obsessed with making her have the time of her life, so that maybe - just maybe - she would fall in love with their master and break the curse that was put upon them. And with Christmas being the biggest holiday of all, the feast had to be grand and perfect.

"Hey, Chapeau, you missed a spot," Lumière told the hat rack, who was busy washing the dishes for tonight. The candelabrum picked up a dinner plate and showed it to Chapeau, who nodded and took the dish from Lumière.

Lumière was currently in the kitchen, overseeing the work of all the servants. He was in charge of making sure that everything went perfect tonight. Or, at least, he had put himself in charge. Since he was over the entertainment, or had been before the Enchantress had come, he decided that tonight would rest in his hands. Or, candlesticks.

"Are you sure you can handle this? The Master will not be pleased if something goes wrong." Cogsworth's deep, droning voice sounded from the doorway as he came in. The clock was always following Lumière around, like he was a attached to him with a leash or something.

Lumière rolled his eyes.

"Of course, Cogsworth. I have everything under control. Have I ever disappointed you before?" Lumière replied as he peered over a pot of gravy.

"Yes. Countless times. Let me see, where to start…" Came the clock's response.

"Well, he has never let me down," Plumette said as she swooped over to the bickering two. She glanced slyly over at Lumière, who grinned in return.

"You see, old friend, you are the only one here he is ever disappointed in me. Everyone else agrees with Plumette, no?" Lumière said.

"Well -"

Lumière cut Cogsworth off, turning around and saying, "No time for small talk, Cogsworth, we have work to do! Chop, chop!" Lumière, who had been striding up and down the counters, hopped down to the ground lightly. He walked past the flustered Cogsworth and out the door, heading towards the dining room. As he left, he heard Cogsworth ask Plumette, "Remind my why you like him again…"

Inside, enchanted objects were busy setting up the table, stringing strands of garland around the perimeter of the room, and even setting up a large Christmas tree. It was big, but not even comparable to the one Lumière was having placed in the Great Hall.

"Excellent work! Remember, everything must be done in -"

"Half an hour. And there still is lots to do. I am not sure that you can pull this off," Cogsworth appeared from behind Lumière, having followed him out of the kitchen.

Lumière groaned to himself before turning around to face Cogsworth.

"Listen, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this metaphor. A broken clock is right two times a day, mon ami, but today -"

"Is not one of those days, blah, blah, blah. Well, that may be your opinion, but it is not mine. I have a feeling in my gut that tells me something bad is going to happen."

"And my opinion, vieil ami, is that you no longer have a gut, so therefore, no feeling. Oui?"

"No, not oui. I'm telling you, the Master is not going to -"

"Pfft, the Master. Old beastie cannot tell the difference between bread and cheese. I have everything planned out, so nothing could possibly happen."

"But if something does? As head of the household, the Master will blame me."

"Yes, if something - big IF - happens, then I will make sure of it, don't you worry, old Coggy. But I have work to do, so au revoir!"

Cogsworth's face contorted into one of alarm and fear. "No, Lumière!" Cogsworth called as the candelabrum swiftly jogged away.

"Finally," Lumière muttered to himself. "I love the guy, but he can be overbearing."

He reached the staircase and hustled up them, his steps light and full of bounce. If Cogsworth didn't mess anything up, tonight would be a huge hit. Because who doesn't love a Christmas Eve feast? Especially one prepared by Lumière?

Hey, she loved the welcoming dinner, so she'll love this one. What could possibly go wrong? He thought as he stepped into Belle's room.

"Knock, knock! It is Lumière!" He said as he entered. "How is everything goin-"

He stopped as he saw Belle. "Garderobe, what happened?" He exclaimed as he saw the dress Belle was wearing.

It was scarlet-red, with a faint tint of purple. It was slim at the top, then fanned out as it hit the waist. The middle of the dress was white, making it look like an avalanche of snow in the middle of a red mountain. However, rips and tears and holes were scattered throughout the dress, and Belle was looking down at it in exasperation.

Lumière felt the same way, and he turned to the large blue wardrobe for an answer.

"Sultan got into it, and I think I may have a couple of moths left in my drawers," Garderobe explained, just as a few of the butterfly-like creatures fluttered out from inside the dresser.

Lumière looked to the left to see Sultan; the former terrier was curled up and whimpering in the corner.

"But do not worry, Lumière. I will have it fixed in no time," Garderobe tried to reassure Lumière. He was about to suggest Plumette, but since she now had wings, sewing would be impossible for her. Plumette, as a human, had been quite good at sewing and stitching if Lumière did say so himself, but she could be of no help now.

"All right, but hurry, ma chere madame. I will go and stall the Master. I will be back to check up on you soon, Belle. And whatever you do, do not let Cogsworth or the Master find out about this fiasco. Especially Cogsworth. Already he thinks I cannot pull this feast off," Lumière instructed before he headed out the door, shutting it closed behind him. Just in case the Master or Cogsworth walks by. I do not want them to see that as they go past. The candelabrum then made his way to the west wing, where the Beast was preparing for the dinner and the dance that would follow afterward.

Lumière stepped into the Beast's room and peered inside. As he was about to walk in, he was nearly stepped on by the Beast.

"Oh, excuse me, Lumière," Beast said as he quickly backed up to avoid stepping on the small candle man.

"Oh, no, c'est bon, Master." Lumière said with a wave of his candlestick hands. "I just…came to check up on you. I take it you are ready for tonight?" He looked up at the large prince, and saw that he was wearing the blue and gold outfit that he had worn on the night of his first dance with Belle. Lumière exclaimed loudly, "Why, Master, what are you wearing? You cannot wear that same suit twice!"

"But, I wore it a while ago. Why can't I wear it again? It would be waste to just wear it once and never use it again," Beast said in puzzlement.

"Yes, but years later, after she forgets about it! Whenever I took Plumette out for a date, I would always wear something new!" Lumière didn't really do this - he just rotated through the seven suits that he owned; but Plumette never noticed, and that was what made it seem like he had so many outfits. True, that it would not be so great to wear that same blue uniform, but Lumière also took it as an opportunity to stall the Beast.

"I paid you enough for that?" Beast's words broke into Lumière's thoughts.

"Eh…no, not really. But that is beside the point! Where is Chapeau?" He asked, looking around. One of the combs heard his question and zoomed downstairs, presumably to the kitchen to fetch the hat and coat rack.

"Now, let us fit you in something perfect for tonight! It must charming, stylish, and make you look confident! Come, come, back to the fitting room. By the time we are finished, Belle will be blown away by your elegance! Chapeau! Dépêchez-vous! Hurry up! We have lots of work to do!" Lumière called over his shoulder loudly as he bustled the Beast into his dressing room.

A few moments later, Chapeau came hurrying into the room. He looked at Lumière with a look stating, 'What? He looks fine to me.'

"No, he does not look fine," Lumière replied to his look. When he saw Chapeau's downtrodden and hurt face, he quickly added, "Yes, oui, he looks dashing, but he has already been that way before. Hair style - the same. Suit - the same. We need something more for the occasion, more…Christmas-y. Comprendre?"

Chapeau thought for a minute, then nodded before walking over to the beast and began to get to work.

Lumière hopped up onto stool nearby and watched the coat rack work. After disapproving of a few styles, Lumière finally found one that he liked.

"Magnifique! THAT is the one!" Lumière exclaimed. The beast was suited in a burgundy coat, with a black waistcoat underneath. Tan breeches covered three-fourths of his brown, furry legs. Around his neck was a black cravat, and his hair was pulled back into a low ponytail behind his head with a green tie. Matching green motifs decorated the coat around the shining golden buttons. Although he wore no shoes or stockings - since his feet and legs were too large to allow it - the Beast looked dapper and debonair.

The Beast admired himself in the mirror. "I guess I do look okay," he rumbled, trying to suppress a smile.

"Oh, nonsense! You look absolutely gallant!" Lumière gushed with a smile.

"Is Belle ready yet? Should I go escort her to the dining hall?"

Uh-oh. I had better go make sure everything is fixed. "I will go see if she is ready. You, Master, just wait right here. In your room. Don't move. I'll be back." With that, Lumière jumped down from the stool and ran off to Belle's room.

Breathless, he knocked quickly on the door before stepping in.

"Is everything fine yet?" He asked as he entered.

He looked up at Belle, and he felt relief and amazement come rushing into his brass stomach. Belle looked absolutely beautiful. Her dress was perfectly mended, and she twirled in a circle for him. Garderobe looked extremely pleased with herself as she watched Belle and Lumière.

"Do you like it?" Belle asked the candelabrum man.

"Oui, but it does not matter if I like it, but the Master. But I am positif that he will be blown away by your exquisiteness, ma chere mademoiselle! Now, come, come! The Master will be waiting for you!" As Belle followed Lumière out the door and to the stairs, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "And, uh, remember the deal that we had that Cogsworth not find out about the catastrophe?"

Belle laughed.

"Yes, of course. But, about that…" She trailed off and glanced down at him.

Lumière felt his heart drop slightly. "What happened?"

"He came in to check up on how things were going right after you left, and, well…you know."

"Yes. Cogsworth can never treat me like a grown man. Thinks I have the mentality of a mere child!"

Belle gave him an arch look that he ignored. When the reached the landing, he saw the Beast waiting there for them, Cogsworth standing nearby behind him. Lumière glared at him before looking up at Belle.

"M'lady, your gentleman," He said in a grandeur voice. Belle smiled at him, then turned to face the Beast. Her smile widened, and the Beast glanced at Lumière. Lumière smiled at him encouragingly, giving him a candle-sticks up (since he no longer had thumbs).

The Beast held out his arm, and Belle took it gently. Together, the two descended down the stairs.

Lumière whispered fiercely, "I'll talk to you later," to Cogsworth before jumping up onto the railing and sliding down it. He jogged ahead of the Beast and Belle and into the kitchen.

What he saw made his jaw and stomach drop.

The kitchen was a mess, as if a whirlwind had come through the castle. Chef Bouche was trying to frantically put out the fire on his stovetop. Soapy water was gushing out of the sink and flooding the cuisine, and multiple servants were trying to stop the water flow. Dishes lay strewn all over the kitchen, and the air was filled with smoke.

"Quel désastre! What is going on here?!" He exclaimed.

Chip was the first one to respond. He hopped over from where he was trying to help turn off the sinks.

"Hey, Lumière! You'll never believe what happened! The sink got clogged, and Chef is on fire!" The young teacup said with excitement in his voice, as if this was the most magnificent Christmas Eve that he had ever had.

Mrs. Potts and Plumette came over next, their faces strained and stressed.

"Oh, Lumière! It is such a catastrophe!" Plumette told him, her normally silky voice tensed and worried.

"You're telling me!" He muttered, looking around wildly at the chaos.

Plumette gave him a hurt look, and he blinked apologetically. "My apologies, mon coeur. I know it is not your fault." He wrapped an arm around the peacock feather duster and pulled her close.

"Mrs. Potts, what happened here exactly?" Lumière asked the old tea pot.

She began to explain. "Well, when Chapeau left, he left the water running, and a dishtowel or something must have gotten in the drain and clogged it. And no one can get the faucet to turn off. And then Chef Bouche was talking to Assiette, the dinner plate, and he got distracted and the gravy boiled over and caught fire."

"Not the sauce!"

"Aye, the sauce. And in the mess, everything just started to get more and more -"

"Chaotique?" Plumette tried.

"Catastrophique?" Lumière guessed.

"Calamiteux!" Chip shouted.

"Tragic," Mrs. Potts finished.

"Well, if this is the kitchen, how is the dining room?" Lumière asked them with a wrench of his gut.

Before any of them could respond, however, a loud roar gave Lumière the answer he needed.

"Oh, dear. I'll be back." Lumière said before dashing away. If the Master doesn't ring my neck.

He came into the dining room and looked around. It was as bad as the kitchen, if not worse. The Christmas tree had toppled over, and most of the ornaments had been shattered or broken. The garland strands were dangling limply from the ceiling and Sultan was barking and running rapidly back and forth across the table, causing food to go flying into the air.

"I told you you couldn't do it," Cogsworth said knowingly and almightily as he came up from behind Lumière, who ignored his snarky comment.

"I leave for twenty minutes, and you guys destroy the palace!" Lumière exclaimed indignantly and in frustration.

At the sound of his voice, the Beast rounded on the candelabrum.

"You were in charge of this?!" He growled, baring his sharp teeth.

"Who, moi? No, no, it was Cogsworth! He is head of the household, no? Talk to him about it," Lumière said, shoving the clock forward towards the Beast.

Cogsworth looked horrified as he stumbled towards the angry Beast.

"Wait, what? No, it wasn't me! It was him! He was in charge of this mess!" Cogsworth pointed at Lumière and staggered backwards, trying to put distance between both himself and Beast, as well as away from Lumière.

"Pfft, it was his idea for a dinner feast on Christmas Eve. Brilliant work, Cogsworth. However, being a romantic, of course the dance was my idea. I'll take the credit for that."

"Clean this up!" The Beast roared, and even Lumière had to flinch in fear.

"Beast, calm down!" Belle said, grabbing the Beast's arm and pulling his attention to herself. "They were just trying to do something nice for us. For you. Can't you be grateful that they did this without you asking? And for giving it a try?"

The Beast breathed heavily, fuming, for a good five more minutes. Nobody spoke or dared to breath, in case they inhaled too loudly and set the prince off on another rampage.

Finally, after a tense while, the Beast calmed down.

"All right. Fine. But I want this whole mess cleaned up by tomorrow! Understand?" The Beast growled at them.

Cogsworth - who had run over to Lumière and hidden behind the candelabrum during the Beast's fit - nodded frantically, as did Lumière.

"Yes, sir. On it right now, Master," Cogsworth told the Beast in a fearful voice.

Together, the two scurried towards the kitchen.

"Well, this didn't go as planned," Lumière said in between giving orders to the servants in the cuisine.

"No. But if somebody had listened to me, things might have turned out differently," Cogsworth said with a sniff.

Lumière rolled his eyes, but a small part of him felt a twinge of regret that he never took his friend's advice seriously.

However, the larger portion of him was sour that Cogsworth had been right about this.

"Remember that metaphor you always say? I guess this was one of those nights, eh?"

Lumière felt a prickle of irritation. He just can't let it go, can he? "Yes, well, one of the very, very, VERY, VERY -"

"Okay, okay, I get it. No need to stress it," Cogsworth interrupted, and Lumière felt satisfied that he had found a way to stop the nagging.

"Well, I still love you, even if it didn't go as planned," Plumette commented as she sailed over on white, elegant wings.

"Thank you, mon amour. And I will love you always and always as well," Lumière avowed, putting an arm around her svelte figure and drawing her close to him with a small smile.

"Ew, are you two going to KISS?!" Chip's young, loud voice came from behind them, and they both whipped their heads around to look at him.

"Chip! Mind your manners!" Mrs. Potts scolded her son.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Potts. It is all right. Sadly, Chip, non. I'm afraid that is impossible right now, seeing as how Plumette currently has a beak," Lumière explained.

"Oh? And what is wrong with my beak? Am I not as beautiful as I was before?" Plumette interjected with an injured voice.

"Bien sûr que non! Of course not, my love. You are just as alluring and flawless as you were as a human. In fact, I find your elegant beak very -"

"Okay, Chip, if you aren't going to help, it's best you get off to bed. You'll need to fall asleep quickly if you want Father Christmas to come, if you've been good this year." Mrs. Potts chimed, cutting off Lumière. As Chip hopped away towards the cupboards, she shot a look at Lumière and plumette, who were still holding each other close.

"And I would recommend the same for you two," she said sternly. "And you should really watch yourselves around the younger ones." With that, she followed after Chip, leaving behind a chortling Cogsworth, an embarrassed Plumette, and an unfazed Lumière.

"I suppose we should get to work," Plumette suggested after a moment of silence.

"Oui. Come, let us help in the dining room. And perhaps things will be better tomorrow. Christmas day! I have bing plans, and even bigger ones at work to make up for what happened today!" Lumière revealed. Behind him, Cogsworth moaned.

And Lumière couldn't help but grin.

Based on Disney's Beauty and the Beast live-action film.


	2. Cogsworth's Unlucky Trip to the City

The castle was silent, except for the small pitter-patter of brass feet on the stone steps. It was just before dawn, and the stars and moon were still shining outside the ghostly castle.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," Cogsworth fretted, looking over his bronze shoulder.

Cogsworth, Lumière, and Plumette were heading up the stairs to the west wing. The plan was to use the Beast's magic book that was given to him by the Enchantress. It could take them anywhere in the world.

And it was obviously Lumière's idea to sneak into the Master's bedroom and use one of his enchanted items that the Beast had forbidden them to touch.

Cogsworth had no idea why he had agreed to do this, or why Lumière had asked him to come along anyway, especially if he had Plumette with him. Cogsworth would have thought that Lumière, being such a romantic (as he constantly bragged) would take the feather-duster to a moonlit spot in Paris, just the two of them and the stars.

But that, apparently, was not what Lumière had mind. Just what exactly he _did_ have in mind was the question. Cogsworth had never been one for lovey-dovey stuff, but this still seemed unusual.

"Nonsense, _mon ami_ ," Lumière replied, bringing Cogsworth back to the present. "This was a _fantastique_ idea! And do not fret, Coggy We'll be back before the Master even arouses."

" _Oui._ The Master will never know," Plumette added, flying close to Lumière.

Cogsworth snorted. He highly doubted that that was true, and when they got back, the Master was going to have a huge meltdown. And then there would be lots of roaring, and destroying, and Cogsworth would be doing a lot of cowering as he got in trouble for something that he didn't do.

 _Then turn back_ , his mind told him. _Why are you going along with this?_

And for some reason, he didn't listen to his reasonable bain. Instead, he kept glancing over his shoulder, wringing what was left of his hands nervously, and following after the two lovebirds.

Finally, they reached the doors to the Beast's chambers.

Cogsworth tried one last time to talk Lumière out of it.

"Really, this is _such_ a terrible idea. If the Master finds out - no, _once_ the Master finds out - he will have our heads placed on stakes outside his doors. I'm telling you, we should most definitely _not_ do this."

But Lumière would not be swayed.

"Cogsworth, everything will be fine. Do I need to use that metaphor again?" Lumière asked his friend over his shoulders with an arch look on his brass face.

Cogsworth huffed. "No. But I think I recall the last time that parable was used, and I think I remember a certain clock being right."

"Yes, well, that was a special occasion. And in the end, everything turned out all right."

"Well, 'all right' is probably stretching it. I think the phrase, 'I saved myself from being ripped apart by the Master with an okay job' would be more appropriate."

"Hush," Plumette whispered, interrupting the bantering friends. "Or the Master will hear us and everything would be ruined."

"Ruined? Yes, that's the proper way to describe our bodies if Master wakes up and finds us in his room messing around his things."

"Oh, it is only a book, Cogsworth. What could possibly go wrong?" Lumière said with a shrug and a playful smile.

 _Plenty of things. Would you like to name some of them? Oh, wait, I already have,_ Cogsworth felt like saying, but kept to himself. The less talking that went on, the quicker they could get this over with. Although, getting Lumière to stop talking was going to be a near - if not - impossible task.

Lumière slowly opened the door. Cogsworth flinched as the hinges creaked, and he braced himself for the Beast to come down on them with storm worthy to be a natural disaster. However, nothing came.

"You see. The universe wants us to go on," Lumière whispered with a smile.

Cogsworth sniffed. "That is the most cliche and cheesy phrase I have ever heard."

Lumière and Plumette ignored him, moving onward into the dark room. Cogsworth hesitated for a moment before scampering after them. Best to be seen with Lumière and put the blame on him than to be seen all alone.

"Fan out and search. It could be anywhere. Plumette, you look at the highest places. I'll take the middle-level, and Cogsworth can search near the ground," Lumière instructed, hopping up onto a dusty stool.

 _Who said I wanted to help you get us in trouble?_ Cogsworth thought, grumbling, but he did as he was told. Which was another puzzling thing to the clock, since he didn't like being told what to do, _especially_ by Lumière, of all people.

Since he was so squat and round-shaped (to put things nicely), Cogsworth didn't think that he was much help, seeing as how he just searched around on the floor. He highly doubted that the Master would let one of his most valuable - and hated - items just lie around on the ground.

Finally, after about ten minutes of searching, Plumette found it.

" _Victoire!_ Lumière, I have found it!" The feather-duster cried, hovering over a tall dresser.

"Brilliant, _mon amour!_ " Lumière responded, running over to his loved one.

"Keep it down!" Cogsworth whispered fiercely, alarm spiking through his bronze body. "Keep it down!"

"Oh, Cogsworth, you fret too much!" Lumière said as he scaled up the wardrobe. He jumped, wrapping his candlestick-hands around the knobs of the cabinets. Hoisting himself up, he tottered on the two handles, his brass face tilted upwards.

"Oh, be careful, Lumière," Plumette implored, her voice laced with worry. Lumière grinned at her, flashing her a charming and confident smile.

"Do not fret, my love. I have everything under control," he told her before leaping.

Plumette gasped, putting her wings to her beak, and even Cogsworth was a little surprised. Lumière obviously had the top ledge in mind, but it was feet away, near the ceiling, and Cogsworth was sure that he would fall short.

However, much to Plumette's relief - and Cogsworth's - Lumière barely got his candlesticks over the edge of the cabinet.

"Oh, _l'amour est vivant!_ You scared to me half to death!" Plumette exclaimed as Lumière hoisted himself up and over the top.

"I apologize, my love, for giving you a fright. But don't worry - Lumière can do anything!" He proclaimed from the top of the wardrobe, throwing his arms into the air, like he was king of the world.

"Not if the Master has anything to say about it," Cogsworth warned. "You are being _too loud_. And dawn is nearly here - I'd say one or so hours until the sun is up, as well as the Master; unless you wake him up first with all of your _yelling_."

"Pfft, I got this, Cogsworth. Anyways, you might want to take a few steps back," Lumière cautioned, disappearing for a few moments as he went to the far end of the dresser.

It was at this remark that Cogsworth noticed that he had drawn closer to the cabinet. He hurriedly backed up, puzzled.

 _Uh-oh_ , he thought as it finally occurred to him as to what Lumière was going to do. _He can't. He wouldn't possibly -_

A large book came flying over the edge of the dresser and straight down towards Cogsworth. He yelped and quickly got out of the way of the thick airborne volume.

"Look out below!" Lumière hollered from near the ceiling as the book slammed into the ground. He broke out laughing as he saw Cogsworth's face.

Cogsworth, however, did not think that it was very funny. Heat rose to his numbered face, and had he been human, he would have been as red as cardinal.

"Lumière!" He sputtered angrily, finally losing his patience. "Do you EVER think about what you do before you do it?!"

Suddenly, the stirring of ripped sheets and tattered blankets made all three of them whip around. The Beast rustled for a few more tense moments before falling silent once more.

"Ah, who is being the loud one now?" Lumière teased, springing down from the chiffonier. Cogsworth sucked in his breath, once again startled by the recklessness of his friend. Lumière rushed towards the ground, and Plumette exclaimed loudly in fear and suspense.

Lumière landed flatly, but he only stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance.

" _Voila_! The _fantastique_ and _incroyable_ Lumière does it again!" He said grandly, striking a pose.

"What, survive a near-death situation? Did you seriously _not_ just hear what I said?" Cogsworth snapped at the candelabrum.

Lumire shrugged indifferently, a smile still on his face, and Plumette glided down towards him.

"Oh, Lumière! You were so brave!" She gushed, flying into his arms and looking up at him adoringly.

" _Oui_. I cannot deny it," Lumière agreed, wrapping his arms around her.

Cogsworth rolled his eyes, slightly disgusted.

"Now, let us go the place of our dreams!" Lumière approached the book, taking an arm off of Plumette to open up the book. It flipped open to a bookmarked page. A large map was printed on the pages, showing the whole world and all the oceans.

" _Parfait!_ Perfect!" Lumière declared. "Now, dearest Plumette, where would you like to go?"

 _Of course. Cogsworth doesn't get a say - he would probably just choose somewhere safe, like any sensible person would,_ Cogsworth brooded, folding his arms.

"Oh, I don't know, my love. Perhaps _Paris_ , the city of love," Plumette suggested.

"Yes, why not. I _have_ been to Paris before, so the book will be able to take us there! Now, if I overheard the Master correctly, all we have to do is -"

"You were eavesdropping on the Master?" Cogsworth asked incredulously. "Is there anything that you _don't_ do?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it 'eavesdropping', more just, 'I walked by and happened to hear a conversation.' But anyways, when the Master took Belle somewhere with this book, I heard him say that all you have to do is imagine a place, and POOF, you're there! Brilliant, no?"

"Oh, Lumière, you are so smart!" Plumette marveled, resting her head on the candelabrum's shoulder.

"Oh, but you are so beautiful, my brains are unparallel to your flawless figure," Lumière affirmed, and Cogsworth lifted an eyebrow. Whether the hidden insult was intended or not, Plumette obviously didn't catch it, and Cogsworth didn't feel like bringing it up.

"Right. Let's get on with it." Lumière blew out the small flame on his candlestick before placing it on the page, where a small circle was labeled ' _Paris'_.

"Come on, everyone, do the same. In order to come along, you need to have your hand - or wing - on the book."

Cogsworth followed Lumière's instructions (for the millionth time that day) and set his copper, leafy hand on the paper. Plumette did the same, leaning in close to Lumière, which Cogsworth thought wasn't really necessary.

Suddenly, Cogsworth cried out as golden dust started to spiral and twist around them.

"Aha, it is working! Hang tight, everyone!" Lumière exclaimed delightedly.

"Oh, Lumière, I cannot wait!" Plumette declared with a happy trill. She lifted her wings to her beak, as if to contain her excitement.

"No, Plumette!" Lumière shouted, seeing what Plumette had done. "Quickly, put you wing back on the pa -!"

All at once, a bright flash filled the room, and Cogsworth squeezed his eyes shut. And then, suddenly, the light faded away, and Cogsworth blinked open his eyes. Beneath his small feet was no longer polished tile, but now worn-down cobblestone.

"Oh, no, Plumette!" Lumière murmured to himself, looking aggrieved. "We have to go get her! We have to go back!"

"Oh, yes? And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Cogsworth asked.

"Why, the book of course," Lumière told him.

"Really? The book is not here, Lumière." Cogsworth informed the candelabrum, a sick feeling starting to spread in his stomach. "We're stuck here."

But Lumière didn't seem to be listening. Instead, he was frantically searching the the street, looking everywhere.

"No! It has to be here…somewhere…if we just look, we can find it!"

Cogsworth wished he could share some of his friend's hope and positive outlook on things. But the look on Lumière's face told him that Lumière didn't have any real positivity - just a frantic, wild hope that he might, magically, find their way back home.

Cogsworth sighed, He would have plopped down onto the ground, but he doubted he would be able to get back up again.

Looking around, Cogsworth noticed people starting to awaken and emerge from their houses and onto the streets.

"Uh, Lumière," Cogsworth started, an edge to his voice. "We should really hide somewhere."

"Not yet. We have to find the book."

"No, seriously. We have to get off the streets!" Cogsworth exclaimed. But when he saw that Lumière still wasn't listening, he hustled over to him and threw himself at the _candèlabre,_ and the two of them went flying off of the road, just as a large carriage rattled past, where Lumière had just been standing moments before.

Lumière sat up and looked over at Cogsworth, an incredulous look on his face.

"You - you saved my life," he said. "Thank you."

"Oh," Cogsworth said, struggling to get back up from where he lay flat on his back. He suddenly felt bashful. "It was nothing."

Lumière was suddenly by his side, and he helped the clock regain his footing.

"Thank you, _mon ami_ ," he said, with a bit more sincerity and gratitude than Cogsworth would have liked.

"I would have done the same for anyone," he told Lumière indifferently, turning away. "We really should hide somewhere. If people see talking clocks and candlesticks…"

"Yes, yes, I understand. But I am a candelabrum, not a 'candlestick.' " Lumière corrected. "Come, follow me. I know a good place. And I know just the way to get back home."

"You do? Please explain." Cogsworth implored, not sure whether he should believe or not.

"Well, back when we were human, I went to Paris to pick something up for Plumette - it had to perfect, and grand, and unique, not something ordinary like flowers, or chocolates, or unkept promises. Obviously Paris was the place to go, no? So I came here while the Master was off visiting his aunt, and I found her these _beautiful_ -"

"Yes, yes, nice story. So you _do_ know the way back, then?"

"But of course! However, I must warn you, it is quite aways. Especially for us."

Cogsworth sighed. He was not looking forward to this.

"All right. Lead the way, Lumière."

And with that, the two started off on the long journey ahead of them.

 _Based on Disney's_ Beauty and the Beast _live-action film._


End file.
